Fate is a Funny Thing

Received Intelligence

Needless to say, Zahlee and Evan are both more furious than any of us. When they finally pick up our calls, we are already home, showered, changed and are pacing around restlessly in the living room. They tell us they are both at Evan's flat, after dropping Asher and Hazel off. Evan lets Rafael know that he and Zahlee will be coming over in a little while, so Mason texts Hazel the same thing. I know the conversation will be very tense and rough when we talk about what happened tonight, so I decide to have a quick nap before they arrive and hopefully calm myself down from the adrenaline rush. Mason decides to do the same, but Rafael insists he won't be able to sleep and stays up.

I am shaken awake around two hours later. Sitting up, I come face to face with my friends as they enter the room wearily and plop down on the sofa. They all look very tired and Zahlee looks like she wants to turn someone inside out. It takes my brain a few minutes to start working properly, but when it does, I already know what I want to say about the situation.

"Everyone okay?" Mason asks, looking around. Everyone mumbles a generic response, and then Zahlee begins to recount what happened after we had to split. Joe was driving the car and they were also spotted and followed by the police. Apparently, despite this, Joe still tried to run them off the road and cause an accident. The freaking psychopath. I don't actually know what's worse, the fact that he put himself in danger to get at Evan, or that he did it all knowing the police were following behind them and he still didn't care.

That guy needs a therapist, like seriously.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Zahlee asks determinedly, "we can't just let them get away with it."

"Actually..." I start but I am cut off as Evan, Hazel, Asher and Zahlee start suggesting ways to get them back. Mason and Rafael are silent but are nodding their heads at the suggestions. I keep trying to tell them what I think but I cannot get a word in edgeways.

"Guys!" Rafael asserts. "I think Hope has an idea too."

I try not to blush at the fact that he noticed me trying to speak.

"I think we should let it go," I tell them and brace myself for their reactions.

"Really?"

"Why would we do that?"

"No way in hell!"

"Let it go? I'm going to take his car keys, scratch his eyes out and then shove them up his ass!"

"I'm not letting him get away with this."

"He could have killed us, Hope!"

"Look I don't know what the history is here, but if we retaliate, then they're just going to do something even worse," I reason, "it's a never-ending cycle. Asher's already been stabbed. Next time it could end up with someone dead."

"Maybe Hope's right," Asher ponders, bringing his hand up to his side.

"Excuse me?" Zahlee looks at Asher. "He needs to pay!"

"He's never going to stop coming for us Hope," Evan reminds me and I get really nervous. I know this feud is not going to go well and although I still can't figure out what the problem is with the two of them, I'm still hoping for them to see sense. Because of those jerks, I've already committed three crimes and I don't want to increase the number. It's just too much to handle!

"Maybe if we leave it be, they'll get tired that we're not responding and leave us be," I say hopefully.

"Yeah right," Zahlee scoffs as if she can't believe what she's hearing. She hasn't calmed down after what happened, and I don't blame her. Looking at everyone else pleadingly, I silently beg them to agree with me.